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Thursday, March 31, 2005

"The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) publishes a quarterly report on trends in six key areas effecting higher education: demographics, economy, environment, learning, politics, and technology."Source: Society for College and University Planning [via DocuTicker]

The James Madison Papers, one of 23 presidential collections held by the Library of Congress, are available online in the Library of Congress American Memory Web site.

"The James Madison Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 12,000 items that document the life of the man who came to be known as the “Father of the Constitution” through correspondence, personal notes, drafts of letters and legislation, an autobiography, legal and financial documents, and miscellaneous manuscripts."

The American Memory Web site contains numerous online exhibits for public viewing. Other offerings include: Abraham Lincoln papers, Presidential Inaugurations, Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project and many others.

"The Civil Rights Era in Virginia was contentious, pitting black against white, neighbor against neighbor and communities against legislation - a microcosm of the years of social upheaval in communities across America. A new archive at the Virginia Center for Digital History at the University of Virginia brings to life that period of our National history through filmed local civil rights events and the words and actions of citizen and national activists in Roanoke, Va. The archive, which received support from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is housed in U.Va.'s Alderman Library, contains film and scripts from two Roanoke TV stations: CBS affiliate WDBJ and NBC affiliate WSLS. The archival footage highlights local coverage of school desegregation, massive resistance, school meetings, civil rights debates, and interviews with key players and concerned citizens in the community, as well as speeches given by Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon and the governors of the commonwealth of Virginia." Material can be viewed online, Quick Time required. [via ResourceShelf]

Report by the commission on the intelligence capabilities of the United States regarding weapons of mass distruction.

From report:

"We conclude that the Intelligence Community was dead wrong in almost all of its pre-war judgements about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. This was a major intelligence failure. Its principal causes were the Intelligence Community's inability to collect good information about Iraq's WMD programs, serious errors in analyzing what information it could gather, and a failure to make clear just how much of its analysis was based on assumptions, rather than good evidence. On a matter of this importance, we simply cannot afford failures of this magnitude."

"Disturbing evidence exists that an unacceptable share of Head Start funding never reaches the disadvantaged children the money is intended to serve, and is instead lost to financial abuse, mismanagement, impropriety, or outright theft within the Head Start system. There is also evidence these abuses may be taking place at the expense of children served by the many law-abiding, quality grantees within the Head Start system – grantees who too often are put in the position of being forced to defend the actions of the “bad apples” in the program." Source: U.S. House Committee on Education [via DocuTicker]

"George W. Bush, President of the United States, approved the first National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States. This historic plan, developed under the purview of the National Counterintelligence Executive, will transform the way we conduct counterintelligence as an instrument of national policy." Source: Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive [via DocuTicker]

From the press release : "In an election year where Americans showed moral values do matter and The Purpose Driven Life topped bestseller lists for many weeks, the media’s reporting failed to resonate with the rest of the country. The Media Research Center just released a study of network news’ religion coverage revealing a deep disconnect existing between America and the media elite." Both html and pdf versions available. Source: Media Research Center [via DocuTicker]

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has added a powerful new tool for labor market analysis to its web site services: the Location Quotient Calculator. The new calculator generates location quotients, a measure that is familiar to regional labor economists as a way to readily compare the industrial activity levels among different areas of the country. In general, location quotients are ratios that compare the concentration of a resource or activity, such as employment, in a defined area to that of a larger area or base. For example, location quotients can be used to compare State employment by industry to that of the nation; or employment in a city, county, metropolitan statistical area (MSA), or other defined geographic sub-area to that in the State. The new BLS location quotient calculator uses a timely data source that is especially rich in comprehensive industry and area detail – BLS's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)." Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Abstract: "Using March Current Population Survey (CPS) data, we investigate married women's labor supply behavior from 1980 to 2000. We find that their labor supply function for annual hours shifted sharply to the right in the 1980s, with little shift in the 1990s. In an accounting sense, this is the major reason for the more rapid growth of female labor supply observed in the 1980s, with an additional factor being that husbands' real wages fell slightly in the 1980s but rose in the 1990s. Moreover, a major new development was that, during both decades, there was a dramatic reduction in women's own wage elasticity. And, continuing past trends, women's labor supply also became less responsive to their husbands' wages. Between 1980 and 2000, women's own wage elasticity fell by 50 to 56 percent, while their cross wage elasticity fell by 38 to 47 percent in absolute value. These patterns hold up under virtually all alternative specifications correcting for: selectivity bias in observing wage offers; selection into marriage; income taxes and the earned income tax credit; measurement error in wages and work hours; and omitted variables that affect both wage offers and the propensity to work; as well as when education groups and mothers of small children are analyzed separately." Source : NBER

Friday, March 25, 2005

New Report from the Congressional Research Service."In recent months, discussions have been held within the European Union (EU) on the question of lifting the embargo on arms exports to the People's Republic of China that was imposed on China on June 27, 1989. The prospect that the EU would lift its embargo on arms exports to China has led to a number of on-going discussions between EU member states and the United States government, which strongly opposes such an action at this time on human rights and security issues grounds. Key nations within the European Union, particularly France and Germany, strongly support lifing of the embargo. And, the United Kingdom has advised the Bush Administration that it will also support lifting the embargo when the subject is formally addressed by the EU, most likely during the spring of 2005." Source : Library of Congress

Thursday, March 24, 2005

"Many media outlets have self-censored their reporting on the conflict in Iraq because of concern about public reaction to graphic images and details about the war. Many journalists said vigorous discussions about what, how and where to publish were conducted, in an attempt to balance fair reporting with audience sensitivities." Source: American University School of Communications [via DocuTicker]

"This research provides lengthy proof of a principle of social science known as Campbell’s law: 'The more any quantitative social indicator is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.' Applying this principle, this study finds that the over-reliance on high-stakes testing has serious negative repercussions that are present at every level of the public school system." Source: Education Policy Research Unit, Arizona State University & Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice [via DocuTicker]

"Presents a concise, accessible, objective view of where the United States has been, now stands, and is going in the future in its long “war on drugs.” The authors assess the success of drug policies to date and review possible reasons why they have not been more successful. They recommend management of the drug problem for the long term, use of different policy levers depending on the situation, and tolerance of cross-state policy variation." Source: RAND Corporation [via DocuTicker]Download PDF Report

"In the past, piecemeal measures have targeted symptoms without resolving root causes. To reduce the domestic risk, policymakers at the national and local levels should work together to identify factors that destabilize neighborhoods, to deny time and space for gang activities, and to improve coordination among various law enforce­ment agencies. At the same time, the White House and Congress should enact migrant labor reforms to reduce the chaos associated with undocu­mented transient populations." Source :The Heritage Foundation [via DocuTicker]

"A Cornell report that measures workers' rights in China against international labor standards finds such horrendous violations as forced labor, child labor, discrimination against women and rural workers and virtually no freedom of association -- but also small pockets where change is beginning to happen. "Justice for All: The Struggle for Worker Rights in China" is the first comprehensive report on workers' rights in China under the "core labor standards" of the International Labor Organization: freedom of association, nondiscrimination and prohibitions of child labor and forced labor. It was conducted by Lance Compa, an expert on international human rights and senior lecturer at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and a team of Cornell graduate students, including some from the People's Republic of China." Source: Cornell UniversityLink to download site

"OJJDP addressed a broad array of problems during the past 2 years. Priority areas included child sexual exploitation, female delinquency, gangs, and truancy. The activities described in this report illustrate the Office’s continuing commitment to supporting programs that have the greatest potential for combating delinquency, reducing the victimization of children, and improving the juvenile justice system. The report also summarizes the latest information available on juveniles taken into custody and lists OJJDP publications released during FY 2003–2004." Source : Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of JusticeDownload PDF report

'The Unveiling of Britain' allows users to explore items either as large images or using a zoom facility. Each map is accompanied by detailed explanatory notes, establishing the historical context of the map's creation, with insights into emerging technologies used in its production and the political background to what it might contain or exclude." Source: British Library [via ResourceShelf]

"Each business day, the U.S. Department of State's Office of Research produces an Issue Focus of foreign media commentary on a major foreign policy issue or related event. These reports provide a global round-up of editorials and op-ed commentary from major newspapers, magazines and broadcast media around the world. Following a one-page analysis of the commentary, readers will find block quotes sorted by geographic region and country. An Issue Focus normally covers one to three weeks of editorial opinion." Source: U.S. Department of State

Monday, March 21, 2005

Results of a survey "conducted in March/April 2004, gathered information from cadets and midshipmen on (1) their values, (2)their experiences with sexual harassment and sexual assault while at the academy, (3)Academy climate factors that might cause or contribute to gender problems, (4)the scope of recent sexual assault incidents at their academies, and (5) factors that affect sexual assault reporting at the academies. The work was intended to assist senior Department and Academy leaders, and Members of the Congress, in identifying changes or adjustments to improve future Academy operations, gender climates, and perceptions." Source: Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense. Released March, 2005.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

"In dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, the Bush Administration’s negotiators must now prepare for the endgame, first by acknowledging that China’s main, if not sole, interest is to prolong the six-party talks process indefinitely so that the world eventually will come to accept a nuclear North Korea in the same way it has accepted a nuclear India and nuclear Pakistan. China most likely calculates that North Korea, as a nuclear power, can complicate U.S. strategic planning and use its increased leverage to extort international food and energy aid with which to prop up Pyongy­ang’s tyrannical regime." Source: The Heritage Foundation [via DocuTicker]

"Summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system and reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians. This report updates a previous BJS report, American Indians and Crime, published in 1999. The findings include the involvement of alcohol, drugs, and weapons in violence against Indians. The report describes victim-offender relationships, the race of those involved in violence against Indians, and the rate of reporting to police by victims. It discusses the rates of arrest, suspect investigations and charges filed, and incarceration of Indians for violent crimes." Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics [via DocuTicker]Download PDF Report

"Cardiologists' level of awareness of racial/ethnic disparities in care remains low. Fewer than one third of cardiologists perceived that race/ethnic disparities exist in the US healthcare system, and even fewer believed that these disparities exist in their own practice settings. The general lack of awareness is a bit surprising given the extent of government agencies’ and professional associations’ efforts to make physicians aware of this issue. Nevertheless, the attitudes about the difference between the system overall and one’s practice setting are consistent with other findings on patient and provider beliefs about the healthcare system." Source: American Heart Association/RAND Corporation [via DocuTicker]Link to Report

"The number of elementary school-age children (ages 5 through 13) declined by 381,000 while the number of their high school-age counterparts (ages 14 through 17) increased by 329,000 between 2003 and 2004, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Arizona had the largest numerical increase of children between the ages of 5 and 13, and California had the largest numerical increase of those between ages 14 and 17." Source : U.S. Census Bureau [via DocuTicker]

"Disturbed by the extent to which the notion of the 'Opt Out Revolution' has been taken up as "truth" despite little supporting data, CGO and the Simmons School of Management collaborated with Hewlett Packard to survey professional women about their views of power and leadership. Our findings challenge the assumptions underlying the purported "Opt Out Revolution." Indeed, women responding to our surveys are pursuing, not shunning, power and leadership." Source: Simmons School of Management

"FY 2002-2004 Biennial Report to Congress on the Implementation of NCLB, Title III, the State Formula Grant Program" is the first in-depth report to Congress containing data from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico concerning the English language acquisition and academic achievement of limited English proficient students (LEPs) since NCLB was enacted. (English language learners or ELLs are also known as limited English proficient or LEP students.)" Source : Office English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA) [via DocuTicker]

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Abstract : "This paper investigates the question of whether teachers treat children differentially on the basis of factors other than observed ability, and whether this differential treatment in turn translates into differences in student outcomes. I suggest that teachers may use a child's name as a signal of unobserved parental contributions to that child's education, and expect less from children with names that "sound" like they were given by uneducated parents. These names, empirically, are given most frequently by Blacks, but they are also given by White and Hispanic parents as well. I utilize a detailed dataset from a large Florida school district to directly test the hypothesis that teachers and school administrators expect less on average of children with names associated with low socio-economic status, and these diminished expectations in turn lead to reduced student cognitive performance. Comparing pairs of siblings, I find that teachers tend to treat children differently depending on their names, and that these same patterns apparently translate into large differences in test scores." Source : NBER

From the abstract : "This paper investigates whether schools may employ discipline for misbehavior as a tool to bolster aggregate test performance. To do so, this paper utilizes an extraordinary dataset constructed from the school district administrative records of a subset of the school districts in Florida during the four years surrounding the introduction of a high-stakes testing regime. It compare the suspensions of students involved in each of the 41,803 incidents in which two students were suspended and where prior year test scores for both students are observed. While schools always tend to assign harsher punishments to low-performing students than to high-performing students throughout the year, this gap grows substantially during the testing window. Moreover, this testing window-related gap is only observed for students in testing grades. In summary, schools apparent act on the incentive to re-shape the testing pool through selective discipline in response to accountability pressures." Source : NBER

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

"At a time when high-quality education leadership is critically needed for the nation's schools, the quality of most preparation programs for education leaders ranges from 'inadequate to appalling,' according to a major study to be released Tuesday [March 15] by the Education Schools Project."

"The study - written by Arthur Levine, the president of Teachers College Columbia University - provides an indictment of leadership programs today and a roadmap for improvement."

Friday, March 11, 2005

"Within this report, the National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education recommends an ongoing and vigorous dialogue targeted on meeting the educational needs of the American people, issuing a series of recommendations designed to improve student preparation, public investment in educational priorities, teaching and research, cost-effectiveness, and the availability of key data." Download Report

Thursday, March 10, 2005

From the U.S. Census Facts for Features: "Although not an “official” holiday in the United States, St. Patrick’s Day has a long history of being celebrated with parades and general goodwill for all things Irish. The day commemorates St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century. Because many Americans celebrate their Irish lineage on St. Patrick’s Day, March was picked as Irish-American Heritage Month. The month was first proclaimed in 1995 by Congress. The U.S. president also issues an Irish-American Heritage Month proclamation."

Interesting statistics include : Number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry (34.0 million)Number of places in the United States named Shamrock, (4) The number of gallons of beer consumed per capita by Americans annually.(22)

"There are more than 45 million uninsured people in the United States. Just who these people are might surprise you. Eighty percent of them are employed, or live in a home where a family member is employed. Their plight has nothing to do with a slow economy. According to a recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, there has been a persistently high number of uninsured over the past 15 years, regardless of the country’s economic climate."

Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Michigan and co-chair of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee (IOM) on the Consequences of Uninsurance, which distributed those findings, recently spoke to faculty, staff, and students about the study as part of the Future Makers Lecture Series at Emory University. Source: Knowledge@Emory

"Although achieving peace in the Middle East is closer now than it has been in years, the United States must establish two new initiatives—one designed to promote economic and governance improvements and the other to foster the next generation of Arab leaders—in order to overcome strong negative Arab sentiment and secure enduring regional stability, according to a new CSIS report." Source: Center for Strategic & International Studies

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

"Knowledge@Wharton reports on presentations by Michael Crooke, president and CEO of Patagonia; Anne Livermore, executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard; Vivek Paul, vice chair and president of Wipro Technologies; and Brent Assink and John Goldman, executive director and president, respectively, of the San Francisco Symphony. This section also includes coverage of a recent talk at Wharton on leadership by Don W. Blair, vice president and CFO of Nike, and an article on corporate governance" Link to Site

"This guide has been designed to introduce researchers to selected basic sources that are useful in obtaining background information or specific facts on the status of federal legislative or regulatory initiatives. Printed, telephone, online, and media sources are included, as well as pertinent directories, such as those of organizations that track areas of interest. Annotations describing each source's contents and organization are included to that researchers can select those that most closely fit their needs." Source : Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

"U.S. government decisionmakers face a number of challenges as they attempt to form policies that aim to dissuade terrorists from attacking the United States, divert youths from joining terrorist groups, and persuade the leaders of states and nongovernmental institutions to withhold support for terrorists. The successes or failures of such policies and campaigns have long-lasting effects. The findings of this research help U.S. decisionmakers more closely refine how and in what circumstances strategic influence campaigns can best be applied." Source : RAND Corporation.Download PDF Summary | Download Full PDF Report

"The internet became an essential part of American politics in 2004. Fully 75 million Americans -- 37% of the adult population and 61% of online Americans -- used the internet to get political news and information, discuss candidates and debate issues in emails, or participate directly in the political process by volunteering or giving contributions to candidates." Source : Pew Internet & American Life ProjectDownload PDF report

"Part of a series of Census 2000 special reports, presenting data on demographic, social and economic characteristics of the Arab population as a whole, as well as of the largest groups within this population at the national level."

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

A Gothic sermon : making a contract with the Mother of God, Saint Mary of Amiens by Stephen Murray was added to the Tyler Collection this week. The author was a fellow at CASBS in 2000-01. In the acknowledgments he writes :

Although this is a project I began some years ago, much of the work was completed in 2000-2001, under the tenure of a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. I wish to express my gratitude to the trustees and directors of the Center, especially Bob Scott. Kathleen Much provided invaluable editing help, and the work of my fellow Fellows invited me to consider the Gothic cathedral in relation to behavior modification. (p. xi)

"A large, rich treasury of images from the collections of The New York Public Library" now accessible free of charge over the Internet via NYPL Digital Gallery."

"These visual materials, many of which are unique to the Library, will be available to anyone in the world with an Internet connection at any time, free of charge. We see new possibilities for exciting intellectual discoveries and accomplishments by scholars, researchers, and artists from remote locations who will be able to easily use our materials."

Contents include:"Civil War Photographs, Illuminated Manuscripts, Japanese Prints, New York City Views, Early American Maps, and More Available in Unparalleled Database of Rare Items"

New eBook from EducauseEducating the Net Generation"The Net Generation has grown up with information technology. The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised—one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up. This collection explores the Net Gen and the implications for institutions in areas such as teaching, service, learning space design, faculty development, and curriculum. Contributions by educators and students are included." Download individual sections or the entire book : Link to site

"Search for statewide information in elementary/secondary education, postsecondaryeducation and selected demographics for all states in the U.S. Besides being able to get state data you will also get data on U.S. averages and the ability to graph the results." Source : National Center for Education Statistics [via ResourceShelf]Link to site

Gender Differences in Participation and Completion of Undergraduate Education and How They Have Changed Over Time"This report drew on several publications and postsecondary datasets to provide a detailed account of gender differences in undergraduate education. Specifically, the analysis examined gender differences in rates of participation and completion of undergraduate education, focusing on changes over time in college enrollment, associate’s and bachelor’s degree awards, and the demographic and enrollment characteristics of undergraduate men and women. The analysis also examined trends in high school academic preparation, postsecondary persistence and degree completion, and early labor market outcomes among bachelor’s degree recipients." Source: National Center for Education Statistics [via DocuTicker]Download PDF report

From the press release : "An unprecedented survey of nearly 5,000 Mexican migrants who were interviewed while applying for identity cards at Mexican consulates in the United States has found that most want to remain in this country indefinitely but would participate in a temporary worker program that granted them legal status for a time and eventually required them to return to Mexico." Source : Pew Hispanic Center [via DocuTicker]Download PDF Report

From the U.S. Census Facts for Features : "In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women’s History Week. The week was chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day, March 8. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History Month" The Census Bureau has compiled a list of statistics under categories such as : Earnings, Education , Marriage, and Motherhood plus a few other interesting factoids.Link to site